Syria rebels claim strategic airbase

REBELS have reportedly seized large parts of al-Dabaah military airport in the town of al-Kussair near the border with Lebanon.

AAPApril 18, 201311:30pm

SYRIAN rebels have captured large parts of a strategic military airbase in the province of Homs where they are trying to expand areas under their control, an opposition group said.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said on Thursday rebels seized large parts of al-Dabaah military airport in the town of al-Kussair near the border with Lebanon, which is used as a gathering point for government troops.

The town is crucial for both sides given its proximity to the Damascus-Homs highway.

Video posted online allegedly showed rebels celebrating inside the facility, where rebels and government forces have been fighting for the past few weeks.

Meanwhile, French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said the European Union faced difficult choices on its arms embargo for Syria, which is due to expire at the end of May.

"When you have people who are massacred by dictators and they try to defend themselves, it is difficult to stand by without doing anything, despite having the possibility to act," Fabius told the European Parliament's foreign affairs committee in Strasbourg.

Fabius added that failure to support the rebels risked encouraging Islamist organisations linked to al-Qaeda to step in and fill the gap.

However, Fabius said that there was a risk that weapons may never reach the rebels and instead fall into the "hands of the enemy."

The opposition has repeatedly urged the West to arm the rebels in the two-year revolt against President Bashar al-Assad.

Western powers are reluctant to arm the rebels, fearing that weapons will end up in the hands of radical Islamists.